The state honor choir registration fee is $124 per student which includes fees for the guest conductor, accompanist, instrumentalists, facilities, food, T-shirt, CD recording of the concert, liability insurance and administrative support services.

Payment Process —

Parents: Include check payment made out to your child’s institution/school.

Teachers: Group all registration payments together and pay by credit card directly to ACDA-MN using the registration form at: mnhonorchoirs.org (Do not pay to Opus Events).

NOTE: If credit card payment is not an option, please submit all individual student registration fees with one institutional or personal check payable to ACDA-MN and send the check to:

Students withdrawing from the honor choir program up to five weeks prior to honor choir day will be issued a full refund if a suitable alternate can be located and placed into the choir. After five weeks, students withdrawing from the honor choir program will not be eligible for a refund.

Partial refunds will be considered on a case-by case basis if the student absence is the result of a sudden medical or family emergency, provided that sufficient notification was directed to the designated ACDA-MN honor choir co-chair, in advance of the honor choir day.

Students who are absent will receive their t-shirt and the CD recording of the performance through their home director.

Scholarships are available for Registration Fees. Please see “SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE” section for details.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR REGISTRATION FEES

Several need-based scholarships to support the honor choir registration fee will be available on a limited basis, sponsored by ACDA-MN’s F. Melius Christiansen Endowment Fund Committee. Parents should indicate their interest on the Student Information Form returned to the school’s director. Should the student be selected for placement in the Honor Choir, an official Scholarship Application Form (Use Online Application Form or use a Paper Copy Form) should be submitted by parents to the ACDA-MN office by due dates listed below. Scholarship applications will be considered in the order received.

Scholarship Applications Due Date:

NEW THIS YEARSTUDENT BEHAVIOR CONTRACT

The ACDA-MN Honor Choir leadership team wishes to clarify basic expectations for appropriate student behavior during honor choir day. Student Behavior Contracts should be distributed to selected students and their parents for signatures and returned to the ACDA-MN office with Director’s Return Form and Student Registration Forms.

LETTERS & FORMS

Directors will distribute all letters and forms directly to the students. Please refer to “FORMS” page on the menu of this website to download the following forms:

Director’s Return Form

Student Registration Form / Medical Release Form

Student Behavior Contract

Letter to Director

Student Congratulations Letter

Student Regrets Letter

REPERTOIRE

Repertoire packets for each selected student will be sent to each director shortly after select notification. Here follows a list of repertoire to be learned by the students prior to honor choir day:

7-8 SSAKARI LACE
Guest Conductor

REHEARSAL NOTES BY CONDUCTOR (as provided)

7-8 TTB

COMPLIMENTARY CONCERT TICKETS

As a member of ACDA-MN, you will receive a complimentary concert ticket to any of the honor choir concerts during any of the three weekend offerings. While at the February concert during the MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic, your clinic badge or ACDA membership card can be presented for free admission.

STUDENT SELECTION CAP

As a policy, the Honor Choir Co-Chairs select and place

7-8: Up to five students per school, per group

9-10: Up to twelve students per school assigned to three groups

4-5-6: Up to five students per school, per group

Occasionally, in order to ensure overall high quality of the choir, or in the case of a student withdrawal, more students per school could be selected. In other words, selected students with qualifying audition scores will be entitled to receive additional consideration, if needed.

CONCERT TICKETS

CONCERT TICKETS may be purchased at a cost of $10 for adults; $5 for students (CHECK or CASH ONLY) at morning registration check-in or ½ hour at the door prior to the performance.

Please note that due to a large percentage of tickets being lost or misplaced by students, ACDA-MN will not be distributing complimentary concert tickets to parents this year. Families unable to afford two parent tickets should contact the ACDA-MN Executive Director at: execdirector@acda-mn.org.

CONCERT RECORDING

Professional (audio and video) recordings will be made during the performance. One audio CD is included in the cost of the student registration fee. Additional recordings may be ordered and purchased at the concert site. No audio or video recording by concert patrons is allowed.

PHOTO ORDERS

During the concert, a representative from LifeTouch Studios will be on hand to take a formal group photo of the honor choir. Please note that photo costs are not included in the student registration fee. Parents may leave order forms and payment with the sales associate at the concert site.

CONCERT PARKING

Parking is available in any surface lot on the St. Andrew’s campus with no parking fees.

Drop off for handicapped or elderly patrons is available at East Entrance Circle Drive of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.

CONCERT DOORS OPENING TIME

Due to needed rehearsal time just prior to the performance, concert patrons will not be permitted into the seating area until ½ hour prior to the concert.

WATER BOTTLES

Students may wish to bring a water bottle clearly marked with their name to the rehearsal location.

MEALS

Students are encouraged to eat a good breakfast prior to your early arrival at the rehearsal site. A mid-morning snack along with a noon lunch will be served. If singers have food allergies, or desire a vegetarian meal, please indicate that information on the Student Registration Form.

Please note that students with gluten-free or vegan diet preferences should BRING THEIR OWN FOOD to honor choir day.

Applications Due Dates

Daniel Gutierrez

Daniel Gutierrez is the vocal music director at Reed Academy. Daniel is an active conductor, clinician and presenter throughout the country. Daniel has been named Teacher of the Year for Springfield Public Schools and Southwest Missouri (also a finalist for the state TOTY award), “Hometown Hero” by CBS, Springfield Rotary Award for Outstanding Community Service, honoree for Springfield Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY National Music Educator Award, and the 2017 recipient of the Missouri Choral Directors Association Podium Award.

Daniel's choral groups have won choral festivals and received invitations to perform at the Missouri Music Educator Association Conference, Southwest American Choral Directors Association Conference, the National Conference for MS/JH Choral Music, and the National American Choral Directors Association Conference.

Kari Lace

Kari Lace is a native of Burnsville, Minnesota where she attended Burnsville High School and sang under the direction of Loren Squires. Kari is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Art degree in Music Education, Vocal And Instrumental K-12. She studied voice with Alice Larsen and piano with Kenneth Graber. Kari also holds a Master of Arts in Education from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

She retired in the spring of 2018 after 27 years of working with choirs at Jackson Middle School in the Anoka Hennepin school district. Jackson is a school of 2000 students in grades 6 through 8 with a strong music program offering band, choir and orchestra. During the 2017-2018 school year, there were 700 students singing in choirs at Jackson. Mrs. Lace works with all of the 8th grade singers and a few sections of 6th grade choir. In 2013 the 185 voice Jackson Middle School Eighth Grade Concert Choir that Mrs. Lace directs was selected to perform at the MMEA State Convention.

In addition to working with middle school choirs, Kari has directed church choirs in Owatonna and Anoka, directed musical theater productions at Jackson and has maintained a private piano studio. She has served and presented as a member of MMTA, MMEA and ACDA. She lives in Andover, Minnesota with her husband John, retired Anoka High School band director. They have two daughters, two son-in-laws and two granddaughters.

GET CONCERT TICKETS

IN PERSON — Concert tickets may be purchased at a cost of $10 for adults; $5 for students (CHECK or CASH ONLY) at morning registration check‐in or ½ hour at the door prior to the performance.

ONLINE — To avoid long lines, parents may conveniently purchase tickets in advance by going to Brown Paper Tickets website to each of the following links for specific Choir: